Thesis Statements
for Literary Analysis

What is a thesis statement?
A thesis statement is the controlling idea of a paper. It expresses succinctly
the idea that the body of the paper will prove. Other names for the thesis
statement are "main idea," "controlling idea," and "thesis."
If the paper is a literary analysis, as all of the papers you will write for
your AP literature course will be, your thesis statement will make a debatable
claim about one or more works of literature. Usually, thesis statements appear
in the first paragraph of the paper.

Can any statement be a thesis statement? No. A thesis statement should
be a fresh idea or opinion that is supportable based on facts or evidence
taken from the story, poem or play discussed in the literary analysis. That
is, a paper's thesis cannot be a restatement of fact or an unsupportable opinion.
A thesis statement must also be interesting and not immediately obvious. It
must elaborate an idea that most readers would find new and refreshing, rather
than unduly familiar or self-evident. A thesis statement often suggests a
particular way of reading or understanding a story, an interpretation that
the average reader wouldn't see right away. The best thesis statements are
specific rather than general.

What would be an example
of an excellent thesis statement? Look at the statements below about "Sonny's
Blues" and decide whether each would work as a thesis statement.

a. Because we
sympathize with Sonny, the drug addict in the story, rather than with his
brother, the narrator, "Sonny's Blues" presents a complex picture
of drug use as a means of coping with sorrow and fear.

b. In "Sonny's Blues," James Baldwin writes about two brothers attempting
to repair their relationship.

c. Both of the characters in "Sonny's Blues" -- Sonny and the narrator
-- change over the course of the story.

d. In "Sonny's Blues" Baldwin uses four female characters, three
of whom are mothers and one of whom is an artist, to establish his theme that
there's no way to avoid suffering in life.

e. By the end of "Sonny's Blues," the narrator is liberated from
his warped personality; he finally begins to feel, which means he will be
freed from his fear and sadness.

f. Though many people would view the narrator as too conservative and, for
most of the story, not caring enough toward his brother, the narrator's failings
are easy to understand. Often, the only way to gain a foothold in life is
to ignore people whose lifestyles or behaviors threaten your stability.

g. Sonny's friend, who approaches the narrator at the beginning of the story,
tells the reader a great deal about the world in which the brothers live.

Why does a paper need a strong thesis statement? A paper needs a strong
thesis statement so that it can make a strong argument. Weak thesis statements
can result in papers with no clear direction or in papers that rely on plot
summary to fill their pages. A good thesis statement predicts limits and organizes
the content of the essay. In other words, it notifies your reader about the
scope of the paper, telling him or her exactly what your paper will cover
and in what order.

Can a thesis statement be more than one sentence? Yes. Often the best thesis
statements are complex enough to require two or even three sentences. If you
need several sentences to express your idea, use them!